User blog:Barnacles1or2/Secrets Of Bubble Guppies 1
I'm going to show you some interviews aboout the creators of Bubble Guppies that I found on the internet. Please read it, please do. Especially the bold words How It's All Made Preschool veterans Robert Scull and Jonny Belt dive in with their swimming new educational series, Bubble Guppies. The under-five set will have an exciting new CG animated world to dive into this month, when Backyardigans '''creators Jonny Belt and Robert Scull launch their newest magical, musical, funny and factual series: Bubble Guppies. The series mixes variety show segments, a '''Kindergarten readiness curriculum (math, literacy, art, science and socio-emotional development) and interactivity with catchy educational pop songs against a touchable underwater backdrop. The show’s stars, six diverse preschoolers with guppy tails, live and learn in an aquarium like environment, exploring their world and the things their landlubber viewers would—dinosaurs, dentists, colors, cowboys—in innovative ways. “We wanted to create a world that we hadn’t done before,” says Scull, “We got excited about the underwater world of the mermaid episode of Backyardigans and we thought it looked really great. We dabbled, thought about doing a whole universe underwater…we realized there hadn’t been a preschool show about that.” And their experience in CG animation made the idea even more tantalizing, according to Belt. “Because it’s 3D, we were really excited about going deep into the watery world and not just moving left to right in a traditional 2D sense,” he explains, “We could sort of explore and go to any level because we can swim. If you’re underwater, you can basically fly, and we were really interested in exploring some of that camera stuff in a preschool environment, and also having interactive stuff that felt more immersive.” The creators wanted to utilize interactivity without making it—key word—'pedantic'. By putting the Guppies out in their world in addition to their classroom setting, the show is able to inspire the audience to participate instead of hammering in facts. “We made sure teacher Mr. Grouper doesn’t just sit in front of the class and recite a bunch of information we’re expecting the audience to retain,” Belt elaborates, “We want to play it and sing it and experience it!” A big shiny chunk of this evolved take on interactivity comes from the show’s catchy pop-inspired songs and dances (which are choreographed by children’s dance program coordinator Beth Bogush and performed by real dancers whose movements are recreated in animation) which tie in a lesson with physicality. Songs teach information and help transition the characters throughout the show’s setting and activity changes. Animating Underwater Tying all these educational elements together is the show’s admirable CG animation—a world and characters crafted out of bubblegum colors, round organic shapes and a touchable matte texture. The inspiration for the Guppies’ world came from an unlikely place:' those whimsical, collectible Japanese rubber erasers'. “We think they’re so cool,” Scull enthuses, “The way they hold the light; they have this soft, squeezable feel. The whole world is made to reflect that. Whether it’s a sandwich or the kids’ skin or the kelp, everything has this soft, matte finish which looks like the same material. That locks in the feel of the world.” The creators worked with their animation team at W!LDBRAIN Entertainment to develop this unique look and work out the other key visual elements of the Guppies’ world. “After Backyardigans, which is photorealism all the way through, we wanted to change to something more fantastical,” he explains. Another way this was accomplished was by using 3D lights to recreate the caustic reflections of light through the surface of water throughout the show. Belt adds that the unbelievable setting lends itself well to the Guppies’ experiences with above-water elements like snow, pigeons or skyscrapers—free from the limitations of an underwater theme. The creators, who both have a deep admiration for Pixar films (“I studied early Eastern European experimental animation, though, so that doesn’t help,” Belt laughs) and animation in general, developed their own system for crafting Bubble Guppies—which takes a crew of roughly 100 about 10 weeks to create each of the 20 episodes. “I come from 2D,” Scull begins, “In 2D you don’t have a lot of control over what a characters looks like. In a 3D world you do, but not necessarily the best camera angles. We developed a system where it’s almost a limited 3D animation—it doesn’t sound as good as it is!” The Guppies are assigned 15 key poses, which speeds up the storyboarding process and produces very consistent, crisp animation, ensuring the characters’ always show their best side. It’s clear the creative duo bring stons of enthusiasm, artistry and toon know-how to the table. But above all, Belt and Scull have a deep respect for their pintsized fans. “We’ve heard in the past, ‘Why try so hard? They’re only three years old, they can’t tell the difference.’ We totally disagree,” Belt insists. “You make it alive. That’s what it takes,” adds Scull. “To make it beautiful and believable, even for a preschooler, you make it alive in a very real way.” (Source) Interview There may be controversy surrounding the influence of the boob tube on young children, but there are shows that get preschoolers thinking before they graduate to a classroom. Enter Bubble Guppies, a Nick Jr. show designed to capture young minds. We dove into this underwater world with Creators and Executive Producers Jonny Belt and Robert Scull — learn how the show helps kids make a big splash in kindergarten. X: What inspired you to create Bubble Guppies, and why did you choose an “under the sea” theme? JB & RS: It was exciting to us to explore an underwater world in a way that hadn’t been done before. The Guppies are based on mermaids, but there are boys too, and a whole culture of creatures that make up the adults in their world. In addition to fish, bubbles, and giant kelp, we also have trucks, dinosaurs, and flying saucers! X: Tell us a little bit about the main characters, and why kids can relate to them. JB & RS:' Molly and Gil are our stars and we’d like to think that they’re characters that kids want to be friends with.' Molly is friendly and kind, and Gil is funny and enthusiastic (sometimes to a fault). We also hope that children will see themselves in one or more of our characters. X: What sorts of things does Bubble Guppies aim to teach children? JB & RS: Bubble Guppies is set to a soundtrack of catchy, educational pop songs and features a curriculum that infuses the core elements of kindergarten readiness, including math, literacy, the arts, science and socio-emotional development. In each episode, the characters lead the learning process, discovering something of interest on their way to school and exploring that theme from a variety of angles. The series’ educational approach fosters a love of learning and inspires independent thinking by celebrating children’s natural curiosity and the power of everyday discoveries. X:: What types of strategies does the show use to keep kids engaged while they learn? JB & RS: Above all, humor. We want the show to speak to viewers in the way that you’d play with preschoolers. We try to make it silly yet sincere, and throw in a lot of color and music to keep kids further engaged. X:: What makes Bubble Guppies stand out from the other children’s shows on TV? JB & RS: The Guppies speak and act like real kids, and their adventures are silly and unique. We like to take traditional preschool ideas and give them a funny twist. For example, learning about colors by racing cars in a “Crayon Prix” or learning the lifecycle of frogs through a Spanish “'Running of the Bullfrogs'.” (Source) Other Facts As part of my research for reviewing Bubble Guppies, I had a great time chatting with Jonny Belt and Robert Scull, executive producers and creators of the show. Here are some fun things I learned about the Bubble Guppies: *The idea for the Bubble Guppies show was inspired by the Backyardigans episode "Viking Voyage," in which Tasha is a mermaid. *The curriculum for Bubble Guppies was heavily researched, and the producers tested out the show on hundreds of kids at different schools. *According to Robert Scull, one of the most important qualities of a show for preschoolers is that it is "joyful." Other important elements are that it is silly, fun, and full of heart. *Robert and Johnny set out to make a show that is like a children's vitamin -- good for them, but yummy and fun at the same time! *Nonny is a unique preschool character, because he is not happy and smiling all the time. He approaches things a little more cautiously, as many preschoolers do, and his personality combined with the unique personalities of the other Bubble Guppies make the characters r'eal, relatable, and memorable for children'. *The Bubble Guppies' teacher, Mr. Grouper, doesn't always have all the answers. He demonstrates that it's okay to not know everything, and he encourages the Guppies, and viewing children, to figure things out together. (Source) Bring On The Bugs *It’s the Big Bug Parade and the Bubble Guppies are marching with the ants and buzzing with the bees! With so many different kinds of bugs, every Guppy has their favorite. But it’s a special spider named Charlie that catches Gil and Molly’s friendship. *I predict it's going to come out before 28 May 2013 in the US, before the release of the Bubble Guppies DVD: Sunny Day, where Bring On The Bugs is included Category:Blog posts